LA Reid still as a job with Island Def Jam, contrary to recent reports.
The rumor mill has been ablaze all day with rumors that the mogul was terminated from his post, but that is untrue,
[The rumors] are completely untrue and without merit, the spokesman told XXLMag.com.
Reid has held the prestigious post since February of 2004 and signed acts like Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and Shyne. He took over Lyor Cohens post after he departed for Warner Music.
Hip-Hop artist Wyclef Jean has formally ended his bid for the presidency of Haiti after his homeland refused to accept him on the ballot.
After weeks of quiet but painstaking reflection with my wife and daughter, I have chosen to end my bid for the presidency of Haiti, Wyclef said in a statement to CNN. This was not an easy conclusion to reach; but it is one that was thoughtfully made, taking into account many, many competing factors and weighing the course that will best advance the healing of the country and help it find the quickest path to recovery.
Haitian officials contested the legitimacy of Wyclefs claims that he had been a resident of the nation for at least five years, a required marker for the presidency.
He said that the decision was difficult and that he wanted what was best for the people of his native land.
This was not an easy conclusion to reach. Some battles are best fought off the field, and that is where we take this now. Our ultimate goal in continuing the appeal was to further the peoples opportunity to freely participate in a free and fair democratic process.
(AllHipHop News) Sources have told AllHipHop.com that Dr. Dre’s new brand of cognac will begin shipping to stores later this month and in the beginning of October. Dr. Dre announced the details of his new line Aftermath Cognac in August of 2008. The first alcoholic drink from Dr. Dre is a joint venture between Dr. Dre and Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records. The production and distribution of Aftermath Cognac will be handled by Abecassis Cognac, which will also help introduce a new 80-proof flavored and unflavored sparkling vodka product.The Aftermath Cognac and accompanying vodka were originally supposed to be released to coincide with Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated album Detox, which still has no official release date. Dr. Dre teased fans during his performance with Eminem and Jay-Z at Detroit’s Comerica Park, after they began chanting “Detox” in unison, in an attempt to push the produced to release the delayed album. I’m coming, was all Dr. Dre told the crowd. Detox is the follow-up to Dr. Dre’s 1999 album 2001.
(AllHipHop News) A former bodyguard for Benzino’s Hip-Hop group Made Men that was acquitted in the attempted murder case of Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce, is in trouble with the law again, for allegedly nearly stabbing a government witness to death. The Boston Herald reports that Trevor Watson, 44, is slated to go on trial in U.S. District Court for retaliating against a witness, for stabbing the informant eight times during an altercation outside of a barbershop in Roxbury. Although the victim suffered life threatening injuries, he was able to identify Watson from a photo lineup. Watson was convicted of taking part in a vicious 2000 assault against Paul Pierce, but he beat the attempted murder charges. While Watson served one year in prison for the assault, another man named William “Roscoe” Ragland remains incarcerated for stabbing Pierce through the diaphragm an lung, almost killing the 6-7 forward. During their trial, all three men claimed their cases were biased due to their associations with Benzino and Made Men.
Click here for Diggy Simmons: General of the Youth Movement Part 1
Allhiphop.com: As an emcee, do you ever put pen to paper when writing or is it laptop work?
Diggy Simmons: I used to do pen to paper. Just recently, a few months ago, I started using Text edit. I dont have a problem with the pen and paper.
Allhiphop.com: What was the criterion to be met in your mind for artists to be featured on Airborne?
Diggy Simmons: Just the way they sounded (aura) on every track. I heard the Chris Brown track for Put you on and I was like oh shoot, let me get on with my boy Breezy. The same thing with Raekwon, I heard him on the track and felt it would be great for New York; even if it didnt hit radio it would do well virally. The process went by the track, not the project as a whole.
Allhiphop.com: Lupe Fiasco calls himself your big brother on a lyrical platform. Your cadence presents a minor hint of Lupes influence on you. Talk about your journey of being a fan of Lupes music up until the moment you shared a studio with him.
Diggy Simmons: I have every last one of Lupes albums, mixtapes and leaks. He has been a huge inspiration to me in Hip-Hop. It was an honor to work with him. I had the opportunity to see him on tour. He put me into a group of his favorite artists coming up in the game. Its just an honor to work with someone I can link with creatively and brotherly.
Allhiphop.com: Two more questions Diggy. Are you keeping your eye on Airborne downloads?
Diggy Simmons: The thing with me and downloads, I dont know, I used to check on them more in the beginning. Now, I just let them be what it is. I wont be mad if I dont have a certain amount of downloads. When I was in LA a few days ago chilling with my team, I heard that Airborne reached 200,000 in just a few days. And that was just the direct link; it didnt include DatPiff.com and other sites that are hosting the download. It feels good that so many people are acknowledging it.
Allhiphop.com: Final question, the youth movement is growing quickly in 2010. Jaden and Willow Smith are on the move; Justin Beiber is on the move. The youngns are being taken seriously by all ages and I believe that you are the major reason why. What are your thoughts on the current youth movement and your part in it?
Diggy Simmons: I am happy to be a part of this. I think that this is the most beautiful thing. Justin Beiber being my homey for a year and a half now. To watch him blow up and his progression is great. Ive just met Jaden Smith a few weeks ago. He is a real cool kid, very talented. And Willow, you might see something from us coming out. Its great man. My homey Lil Twist is doing his thing. There are some young artists on the come up at DEF JAM doing their thing. And its not like were all good enough for our age. I feel that all of us that are making a name for ourselves are as good as anybody; we can hold our own.
OK, so he is not from the streets. Thanks to Runs House he is not a relative unknown. He’s 15 years old. And thanks to his father, Run, of the legendary and possibly most meaningful contribution to Hip-Hop, RUN DMC, he was bred into an undeniable legacy that was seemingly impossible to appear from under the shadow of…
In 2009, Diggy Simmons caught everybody off guard- everybody. Diggy stepped on the scene with his first mixtape The First Flight and bent concrete; his delivery, fearless; his cadence, sleekly polished; and his lyrical content, sculpted from the finest of Queens DNA. Immediately upon his appearance, debates of whether Diggy should be rapping or not spread throughout the blogosphere and even reached credible websites such as AllHipHop.com. But the more attention Diggy received, the more he impressed. His remix to Made You Look, was not only the exclamation point to his rising credibility, he displayed his history of the game by paying homage to Queens native, Nas, a man that paid homage to Diggys Uncle Russell when he Etherd Brooklyn native, Jay-Z almost 10 years ago.
So why is Diggy Simmons the General of the Youth Movement, you ask? When was the last time you took an emcee under the age of 18 as seriously as we are now? Think about that before you answer. Times up! Who else in Hip-Hop History had the same go hard delivery, a cadence built for Hip-Hop and lyrical penmanship around Diggys age; yes, another Queens native, LL Cool J. And while ladies of all ages are whipping their hair back and forth to Willow Smiths debut single, theyve realized that shes only 9 and it doesnt matter. Why? Because subconsciously, Diggy laid the groundwork over the past year and a half that no matter the age, good music is good music.
With that being said, Diggy Simmons took a moment from his Friday night writing to talk with AllHipHop.com about his new mixtape Airborne, working with his favorite emcee Lupe Fiasco and whether theres a possibility of collaborating with his father.
Allhiphop.com: Youve stepped on the scene, built your fanbase, brought some doubters along the way, turned those doubters into admirers and it seems that youve never changed your original momentum. So what is it, talent, confidence, having an underdog mentality; whats driving your movement?
Diggy Simmons: Honestly, it was never having an underdogs mentality. The drive comes from me expressing myself and wanting to put out great music, the best music I can. With putting out these mixtapes, I dont hold back. I give myself each time. The response is great and more people are tagging along. My support is growing and my supporters are inspiring me to do more.
Allhiphop.com: Your background is well documented; second-generation emcee that took your family off guard by ignoring a historically paved road by creating your own. Do you think there will come a time when your road will merge with your fathers? And if so, shouldnt it be celebrated when it happens compared to the unnecessary heat youve taken for being born a Simmons?
Diggy Simmons: Well I already knew, even being young, that people would have their preconceived notions of me. I saw the comments on the blogs. Of course people are going to take shots. As for my dad and I doing a track together; absolutely, it can happen. Real soon? No. I am still breaking out as my own person; as an artist; as Diggy. So soon? No. But can it happen? Most definitely
Allhiphop.com: Airborne is an impressive mixtape, but it was The First Flight that Rap fans and artists alike had their first glimpse of you leaving the runway. Aside from the features on Airborne, talk about the differences and similarities between the two mixtapes.
Diggy Simmons: The biggest difference between the two is the progression. Everything from production to the formula in the way I made the music. People can hear the progression and I could see it. The biggest similarity, well I wouldnt say its the same sound at a higher scale. Its just far more elaborate. Being signed to Atlantic Records now, the mixtape was a completely independent thing. But they were so excited and wanted to listen to it beforehand. They heard the songs and asked me if I wanted to save them for the album and I said, Heck nah. I want to represent myself each time, in the best way, so people WILL want to buy my records. It doesnt make sense to save songs to me. Because when its time for me to work on my album, I am going to be that much better.
AllHipHop.com: Weve interrupted your writing with this interview. How much time do you put into your sessions?
Diggy Simmons: I put a whole lot of time into writing. I put a lot of time into each verse. I write all my songs on my Macbook in Text edit. I write whenever Im inspired by a beat or concept. Sometimes, Ill write in the studio, sometimes Ill write at home. I spend a lot of time on my writing. I believe in quality over quantity. Im a perfectionist and not ashamed of it.
(AllHipHop News) East Orange, New Jersey rap group Naughty By Nature have formed a new group called The Garden State Greats, consisting of a variety of upcoming underground rappers from New Jersey. The group recently dropped a mixtape titled Garden State Greats, which is a free 7-track mixtape that features Treach, Vin Roc and Kay Gee, alongside the budding MC’s. The new mixtape comes as Naughty By Nature prepares to release Anthem Inc., their first official album together in over 10 years. This Friday, the group will promote their release during an appearance on BET’s popular live countdown show 106 & Park. Naughty By Nature will stop by the show to announce the national premiere of their video “I Gotta Lotta,” which already has over 100,000 views on YouTube.”This new album is definitely gonna take you back, but just like we always did, weve invented a new sound, a bunch of new flows and after being without an album for so long, we’ve gotta lotta things to say,” Treach said. At press time, there is no release date available for Naughty By Nature’s album Anthem Inc.
[Editor’s Note: I first heard of Delo from scouring my Twitter timeline (props to @jpublicizt). It was talk about the best mixtape she every heard and Hood politics was a dope mixtape. Once I heard “Ghetto Boy,” I added it immediately as the Heater of The Day. After getting to know more about Delo and see him perform, He’s has a mesh of mellow and street with a sound I wouldn’t place in Houston. Delo is nice and he’ll be makin major noise soon, read more about him. – Steve Raze]
People lose when they start assuming. In this case, never assume that all that Texas Hip-Hop has to offer is grain grippin’ and candy paint rhymes over beats that drip like syrup. There’s more. Delo, the quick-witted emcee emerging from Houston makes sure that he isn’t type-casted into that all-so-familiar role. Like in a day when one gets morning and night, Delo shines light on both sides of the game of “Hood Politics” with “One Shot”
AllHipHop.com: You’re sound is different from the stereotyped Houston style that people are used to hearing. How would you describe it?
Delo: I mean, that’s the sound of the pioneers of my region but I have my own thoughts, my own style. That’s not my sales pitch, that I’m from Houston. I don’t rap like none of these Houston rappers. I’m just trying to be original. I listen to east coast rap, west coast, worldwide, just hip-hop in general. So I don’t look at rap as like a region. See its crazy because a lot of R&B people, you don’t even know where they’re from but a rapper has to lock down his region, I don’t understand that but I’mma roll with it. I’m not trying to NOT sound like I’m from Houston. I grew up with Scarface, Screwed-Up Click, DJ Screw, Slim Thug, Lil Keke – all of them. They made me want to rap. But I had to be me.
AllHipHop.com: So why do you think Hip-Hop artists place so much emphasis on where they’re from? Its almost territorial. Why is that?
Delo: I mean you have to look at it like this from the standpoint of the original rappers. They stood out on their corners and freestyled, “We from 43rd and 9th/we hold it down all night…” you know? So it’s like you have to claim where you’re at cuz you gotta get your neighbors to ride with you, gotta get everybody from your city to roll with you. It’s kinda like you start from the bottom of Hip-Hop. With Hip-Hop, you have to be accepted in your town, you gotta be able to walk through the ghettos. You have to be recognized, you have to be acknowledged. It’s a respect issue with Hip-Hop. It’s never gonna change. For instance, Drake is from Canada but people out of Houston LOVE Drake, don’t even know how to get to Canada [laughs]. You just gotta rep where you’re from, that’s how it is.
AllHipHop.com: I heard you mention respect. What is it about you and your music that you feel deserves to be respected?
Delo: At the end of the day I want the listener to understand that what I’m saying is REAL. I want what i’m saying to hit home. I’m not trying to lose you in no way, but I want people to be like “Man, I feel what he just said, I know where he’s coming from…” I don’t have much money so I don’t want people to respect me cuz I got money. I want them to respect me because what I’m saying is real and I’m trying to bring some good into this music, it’s just good music. I’ll be proud with that just to hear people say “He makes good music.”
AllHipHop.com: What elements of your surroundings and your environment are you bringing to the table? How is it influencing your music?
Delo: Well I’m taking my stories that affected my life and putting it on beats. But me and my music, I kind of get lost into it. Its not me what I would say to you on the telephone but what I would say over a beat. I get into character. For instance, I take that girl that was raped in a hallway and take her thoughts and try to spit from that perspective, saying if that was me what would I say, if that was me, what would I do?
AllHipHop.com: You get into a storyteller mode….
Delo: Yeah, I get into a storyteller motion. I just have a passion for it. When that beat comes on, it takes me somewhere and I explain the location. It’s just what I do.
AllHipHop.com: You have a certain rhyme pattern that is fun but quick-witted. You almost rhyme in a riddle…like you have to be prepared
Delo: Is that a good thing or bad thing?
AllHipHop.com: It’s a supreme thing. Rap music is supposed to teach in some form, whether its through rhyme or style. So tell me about “Hood Politics.” What is a hood politician?
Delo: I explain Hood Politics like this: there’s two sides to everything. When the elections come around, where do you see most of the banners and the flyers and posters? You see them in the ‘hood. You don’t go into some of these other neighborhoods and see all that kind of promotion so I’m just trying to make music for both sides of the fence. Whether you a 14-year old African-American boy or a 32-year old Latina woman, you grew up in the hood, whether you a drug-dealer or a lawyer, if you like rap music or if you don’t like rap music, I just kinda like, try to build a bridge between the gaps, between different regions, different nationalities. I’m not trying to do just trap-boy music or pretty-boy music. Its the hood and the politics–everything is political and everything relates back to your hood, where you’re from. And that song really started the whole movement, just kept screaming it, “Hood politics, hood politics” people getting it tatted on their hand. It just placed itself here.
AllHipHop.com: So “Hood Politics” is a movement?
Delo: It’s a company now.We came up with it about 14 months ago when we did the song and then we seen Jeezy drop the track “Hood Politics” from Trap of Die 2. I was thinking “Man, Jeezy must have heard my cd.” [Laughs] Even if he didn’t hear it, it shows that I’m on the same track that he’s on, in terms of being creative and coming up with ideas. So its everything! Its a company, its a movement, it’s a way of thought, its whatever….T-shirts [laughter].
AllHipHop.com: What’s next for you?
Delo: Hood Politics II. We’re dropping at the end of this year, an LP with all original music, produced by Cy Fyre. He produced J Dawg’s “First 48” out of Houston. This ain’t a mixtape, this is a street album.
AllHipHop.com: Who can we look forward to hearing on the tape?
Delo: Man, this cat man he’s nice man, they call him De-lo. Delorean. Hey, it might not be another rapper on this CD, unless. I’m trying to get this legend. I’m not trying to force him but if he says let me put something on there, its a WRAP.
AllHipHop.com: Well we’re definitely looking forward to this being that you’re considered as one of the best up and coming out of Texas. How do you feel about competition?
Delo: I always, I ALWAYS whatever I’m doing, I step out like I’m the best. And everyone else should always feel the same. I don’t look at anyone as a threat and if you do then I look at that as a weakness. Its not that I feel like I’m better than you, but I feel like I love it more. When you love things more you make better love, so I just want to prove to people that I want it better than the next man. I’M NICE! I swear if I ever get that spot, I WILL NOT let them down!
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs] OK, OK, so where can we find you aside from your MySpace (http://myspace.com/delomdr)?
Delo: Either on the sh—- or on Twitter. Straight up. Its @IamDelorean and get at me. I leak music all the time. I make funny jokes, I do the best trending topics, I’m running this thang! (laughs) Twitter for life! They love it, they love it. I give’em what they want.
AllHipHop.com: As long as you’re not starting any Twitter beefs…
Delo: I’m ready for it. Hip-Hop is competitive. If somebody wanna go song for song, I’m ready. Why should I act cordial with you and I’m going for that number one spot? Ay, I’m no Twitter thug. These people’s careers are ending on the net, I’m trying to get mine going.Visit Delo at Twitter.com/IamDelorean
“Haterade”
“Fairytale”
“Sold Out Shows”
“Done It All”
“I’m Cool G4 Freestyle”
“The Platform Freestyle”
“OK, Yea Remix”
“Lonely Road”
“Fly”
“Buffy”
“Yesterday”
“Birthday Suit”